Reading Your Conduit Bender: Every Mark Explained

A hand bender head is covered in marks that look like decoration until someone tells you the system. There are four: the arrow, the star, the rim notch, and the degree scale. Each one answers a different question, and mixing them up is the most common reason a bend lands in the wrong place.

The arrow: offsets and stub-ups

The arrow — usually cast right at the tip of the hook — is your default reference. Line your conduit mark up with the arrow for stub-ups (mark = stub height minus take-up) and for offset marks. If you only remember one mark, remember this one: most bends in a normal day start at the arrow.

The star: back of 90 and back-to-back bends

The star marks the back of a 90° bend — where the bend ends, not where it starts. It is the tool for back-to-back 90s: bend your first 90 at the arrow, measure the distance between the two bends from the back of the first bend, mark that point, then line the star up with the mark and reverse the bender. Your second 90 now starts exactly the right distance away.

The rim notch: 3-point saddle center

The rim notch sits at the center of the bender's curvature. For a 3-point saddle, you center the saddle's middle mark on the rim notch and bend to 45°, then flip the conduit and place the arrow (or the specified outer mark) at the two outer marks for the 22.5° return bends. Saddles are the one bend where the center mark matters — and the notch is how you find it.

The degree scale: bend to the number, not the feel

The curved scale on the head shows common angles — usually 10, 22.5, 30, 45, and 60 degrees. Watch the scale, not your arms: stop when the conduit reaches the number. This is also the cheapest way to diagnose a wandering multiplier — if your offsets keep coming out wrong, check whether you are actually hitting the angle you think you are.

Worked example: back-to-back 90s

With 1/2" EMT you need two parallel stubs 24" apart. Bend the first 90 at the arrow. Measure 24" from the back of that bend, mark, line the star up with the mark, flip the bender, and bend the second 90. The stubs come out 24" apart on center. Do the same job at the arrow and you will be short by the take-up — 5" on a 1/2" bender — every time.

Field tips

• Marks are cast, not printed — fill them with a paint pen once; you will read them three times faster in dim basements.
• The star and rim notch sit close together on some heads. Double-check you are on the right one before a saddle.
• Every bender's marks are its own — a borrowed bender means a fresh round of take-up and radius checks. The app's calibration screen walks you through it.